Adjustable gaming stool with releasable locking assembly

ABSTRACT

A gaming stool to enable an associated gaming machine to be serviced has a seating section, a support assembly connected to the seating section, and self-adjusting resilient means connected to the seating section for normally maintaining the seating section at a predetermined height. The support assembly is operatively associated with the self-adjusting resilient means and includes an upper member and a lower member, disposed for operative inter-engagement with each other. A releasable locking assembly between the inter-engaging upper member and lower member has a wide cut-away section, a cut-in portion and an entrance opening therebetween in the wall of the lower member. A latching member on the inner wall of the upper member will engage the cut-in and hold the seating section in a depressed position and, when disengaged, will return the seating section to the self adjusting operation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/620,623 filed Oct. 20, 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to gaming stools for associated gaming machines and more particularly to an adjustable gaming stool having a releasable locking assembly which enables the stool to be locked in a relatively lower position to permit a gaming machine technician to easily access the associated gaming machine without the necessity of removing the gaming stool from its assembled position with the gaming machine.

It is well known that gaming stools, chairs and seats at casinos are mounted on support posts at one end of elongated, generally heavy, flat sled-type bases which are releasably connected at an end spaced from the support post for the stools in juxtaposition with the base of an associated gaming machine. This arrangement for gaming stools and seats with an associated gaming machine in casinos is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,840,343; 5,678,886 and 5,762,617.

Further, it is also known in the art that gaming stools, chairs and seats used in casinos can be mounted on telescopically arranged support members in which the respective members can be releasably locked together as is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,373,079; 5,911,191; 6,079,786 and 6,138,973. Adjustable and variable length telescopic members for supports, pillars and columns are also well known in the art as is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 314,831; 4,693,442; 5,284,312 and 6,079,786.

Most of these gaming stools are provided with some form of self-adjusting devices such as spring acting members or gas cylinders which initially hold the seat section of the stool at its highest position. These self-adjusting devices yield to the weight of a person when seated on such stools, and then when the person leaves the stool, the self-adjusting device returns the seating section of the gaming stool to its initial position. Self-adjusting devices of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,678,886 and 5,911,191.

Since all gaming machines require servicing for various reasons, during the servicing of the gaming machines, it has been found that the seating sections of the associated gaming stools for the gaming machine interfere with the servicing because of the height of the seating section. While the gaming stool and the heavy sled base can be disconnected from the associated gaming machine for cleaning or other purposes, such as the repairing or servicing of the associated gaming machine, this requires the use of tools and personnel strong and capable enough to handle removal of the relatively heavy combined weight of the gaming chair and the sled base. Heretofore, during the repair and servicing of the associated gaming machine, to avoid removing the combined gaming stool and heavy sled base, removable weights or other holding devices have been used to reduce the height of the seating sections of the gaming stool so such repair and servicing on the associated gaming machine can be made.

By utilizing the self-adjusting devices on a gaming stool, the present invention enables the seating section of a gaming stool to be lowered and releasably locked in the lowered position when repair or servicing is in progress, and then when such repair and servicing is completed, it can be released to enable the seating section to return to the self adjusting operation, as before, until it needs to be releasably locked in the lower position again for further repair and servicing or for any other reason. This is achieved by the co-action of the self-adjusting device such as a plunger and gas cylinder device and an operatively associated inter-engaging support assembly with an improved releasable locking means formed thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is one aspect of the present invention to provide a stool having a seating section, which stool is adapted to facilitate the servicing of an associated machine, comprising a support assembly having an upper member and a lower member disposed for operative engagement with each other, the upper member is affixed at its upper end to the seating section and has its lower end normally disposed in freely movable relation to the lower member, yieldable means on said support assembly is operative in assembled position to expand the support assembly to normally maintain said seating section of the gaming stool at a predetermined height and self-adjusting under the application of a force, such as the weight of a person to the seating section, to enable said seating section to be moved to a lower position and when the force is released to return the seating section to the initial predetermined height, and an inter-engaging locking assembly formed on said upper member and said lower member to enable the seating section of the gaming stool to be releasably locked at a desired lower height and when released to return the seating section to normal self-adjustment of the seating section during further use of the stool.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a gaming stool for servicing an associated gaming machine having a seating section, means for allowing the seating section to adjust from an initial height to a lower height during use of the gaming stool, a support assembly connected to said seating section and having an inter-engaging upper member and lower member disposed for sliding movement relative to each other during normally operative use of the gaming stool, a locking assembly formed between said inter-engaging upper member and lower member, including a cut-away section in the wall means defining the lower member, a shaped cut-in section in said wall means having a transverse opening in communication with the cut-away section in the wall means, and an enlarged gear-shaped latching member on the inner wall of the upper member operable on rotation of said gaming stool to enter said transverse opening for releasable engagement with the cut-in section in said wall means to hold the seat section at a predetermined lower position until the gaming stool is moved and rotated to release the enlarged gear-shaped latching member from releasable locking engagement with the cut-in section in the lower member and to allow the seating section to return to normal self-adjusting seating operation.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a gaming stool for servicing an associated gaming machine, in which the support assembly comprises self-adjusting means for normally maintaining and returning the seating section of the gaming stool to a predetermined height which is operatively associated with a locking assembly on the supporting assembly to releasably lock the seating section of the gaming stool at desired lower height for servicing the associated gaming machine.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a gaming stool for servicing an associated gaming machine, in which the enlarged gear-shaped member on the inner side of the wall of the upper member of the support assembly is a generally rotatable gear-shaped wheel adaptable to slide into the entrance opening for the cut-in section on the lower member of the support assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a gaming stool which includes and to which the present invention is particularly applicable,

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the seat of the gaming stool shown in FIG. 1 showing the connecting plate and the upper member of the support assembly,

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the gaming stool showing the support assembly in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view through the connecting plate for the gaming stool shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 5 is a side view of the support assembly showing the locking assembly in dotted and phantomized form,

FIG. 6 is a cross-section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5 showing the rotatable gear-shaped wheel-like member of the locking assembly on the inner wall of the upper member, the enlarged vertical cut-away section and a section of the arcuate portion of the wall on the lower member,

FIG. 7 is a side view of the lower member of the support assembly showing the enlarged vertically disposed cut-away section, the shaped cut-in section in the wall of the lower member and the transverse opening in the wall to provide communication between the cut-in section and the cut-away section of the locking assembly,

FIG. 8 is a cross-section taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7, and

FIG. 9 is a cross-section taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

By reference to drawings, the figures of the drawing illustrate the present invention in the form of a gaming stool generally designated 1 of the type that is operatively associated with and connected to a gaming machine in the manner well known in the prior art.

While the present invention is being illustrated in the form of a gaming stool and an associated gaming machine, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the present invention is equally applicable to any symbiotic arrangement between two devices in which one device must be moved or adjusted to enable repair, changes or other action to be done or taken on the other device.

Gaming stool 1 has a seating section 2 connected to a telescopically formed support assembly 3, which includes a self-adjusting device 4 for normally returning the seating section to a predetermined height. Support assembly 3 is mounted near one end of a flat, generally elongated heavy flat sled base 5, only a fraction of which is shown. The sled base 5 will have a game machine connecting end, not shown, a spaced distance from the support assembly 3 for detachably connecting the flat sled base to its associated gaming machine, also not shown. The connecting end of the flat sled base 5 and the gaming machine are not illustrated, shown or more fully described because the combination of a gaming stool mounted on a flat sled base detachably connected to an associated gaming machine is well known to those skilled in the art.

Gaming stool 1 has a base connecting plate 6 on the underside of the seating section as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The inter-engaging support assembly 3 illustrated is telescopically formed and includes a sized upper cylindrical member 7 operatively related to a sized lower cylindrical member 8. Upper cylindrical member 7 is affixed at its upper end to the connecting plate 6 on the underside of the seating section 2 for the gaming stool 1 and is open and sized at the lower end to fit about, over and slide generally vertical relative to the length of the lower cylindrical member 8. The lower cylindrical member 8 is in turn affixed at its lower end in a generally vertical position to the flat sled base 5 a spaced distance from the gaming machine connecting end, not shown, of the flat sled base 5.

The self-adjusting device 4 illustrated is of the plunger and gas cylinder type in which the gas cylinder 4 a is mounted in the lower cylindrical member 8 so that the plunger 4 b can extend into the upper cylindrical member 7 where the upper end of the plunger 4 b is also connected in assembled position with the seating section for the gaming stool. The plunger 4 b is so sized that it can only be forced from the gas cylinder a predetermined distance, which movement is translated to the seating section of the gaming stool to which it is connected and acts to hold the seating section 2 a predetermined height from the floor or other support for the gaming stool. If the seating section 2 is lowered from this predetermined height by some suitable force, such as the weight of a patron at the casino, when the force acting on the seating section is removed, absent any means for holding the seating section in the lowered position, the plunger will return the seating section to the initial predetermined height.

FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the drawings show that in the present invention, an improved locking assembly generally designated 10 is provided to hold the seating section 2 of the gaming stool 1 at a lower height for repairing and servicing the associated gaming machine, not shown, or for other reasons. Locking assembly 10 is formed by establishing operatively related parts and elements on the respective upper cylindrical member 7 and lower cylindrical member 8 which co-act to enable these inter-engaging members of the support assembly 3 to disable the normal self-adjusting operation of the self-adjusting means 4 for the seating section and to move and hold the seating section 2 at a lower height for at least the servicing of the associated gaming machine or for any other purpose and to then release the locking assembly 10 to enable the seating section to return to the normal self-adjusting operation during further use of the gaming stool.

Locking assembly 10 is established by shaping and forming the cylindrical wall of the lower cylindrical member 8 with a relatively large vertically disposed cut-away section 11 extending downwardly from the upper end of the lower cylindrical member 8 to form side edges as at 11 a and 11 b on the remaining arcuate wall section 12 of the lower cylindrical member 8. Medially along the cut-away section 11 extending into this arcuate wall section 12 from at least one of the side edges as at 11 b is a transverse extending shaped cut-in portion 13 having a relatively wide entrance opening 13 a in the side edge 11 b on the arcuate wall section 12 of the lower cylindrical member 8. The cut-in portion 13 and the entrance opening 13 a are so shaped that a locking groove is formed at the upper inner side edge of the cut-in portion 13 in the side wall 12 by a downwardly extending locking tab 13 b, all of which is shown by FIGS. 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9 of the drawings.

Mounted on the inner wall of the upper cylindrical member is an enlarged gear-shaped member 14 which is so aligned in assembled position that it can slide freely in and out and along the large vertically disposed cut-away section 11 formed in the lower cylindrical member 8 allowing for normal self-adjusting operation of the seating section 2 of the gaming stool 1 when used by patrons at a casino. The enlarged gear-shaped member 14 is effectively a latching member and may be a rotatably mounted gear-like wheel for reasons that will be clear from the description of the locking assembly, as set forth below. However, when it is necessary or desirable to lower the height of the seating section 2 of the gaming stool 1 for servicing the associated gaming machine, or for any other reason, downward force can be exerted against the seating section 2, and the seating section must then be turned so that the enlarged gear-shaped member 14 can be moved through the entrance opening 13 a in the side edge 11 a for communication with the cut-away section 11 and for engagement with the transverse generally square cut-in portion 13 formed in the arcuate wall section 12 of the lower cylindrical member 8. When the seating section is released, the enlarged gear-shaped member 14 will be latched by force of the self-adjusting device 4 into engagement with the locking groove formed at the upper side edge and the locking tab 13 b of the shaped cut-in portion 13, to hold and lock the upper cylindrical member 7 and the seating section 2 connected to the upper end thereof at the desired lower position for any reason, but more specifically for the servicing of the associated gaming machine. To release the upper cylindrical member 7 and the seating section 2 from this locked position, force must again be exerted against the seating section 2, and the seating section is then rotated back to the position where the enlarged gear-shaped member 14 on the inner wall of the upper cylindrical member 7 can again slide freely relative the large vertically disposed cut-away section 11 in the cylindrical wall of the lower cylindrical member 8.

In operation, the self-adjusting device 4 such as the plunger and gas cylinder is advantageously mounted in the support assembly, and when the support assembly is in assembled position with the gaming stool, the gas cylinder and plunger member are so disposed that the plunger extends into engagement with the underside of the seating section of the gaming stool to expand the support assembly and hold the seating section at a predetermined maximum height. When downward pressure is applied or exerted against the upper or outer face of the seating section, the plunger yields to permit the seating section to move to a desired lower position, and when the pressure is removed, the plunger returns the seating section automatically to the initial height setting for the gaming stool.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference to a particular preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that this embodiment is merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiment and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A gaming stool for enabling an associated gaming machine to be serviced comprising: a. a seating section, b. a support assembly disposed on a supporting surface, c. said support assembly having an upper member and a lower member disposed for operative inter-engagement with each other in assembled position, d. said upper member connected at the upper end to the seating section and having its lower end freely movable relative said lower cylindrical member, e. self-adjusting means connected at one end to said seating section normally operative to maintain said seating section at a predetermined height and yieldable to enable said seating section to be moved and held at a lower position, and f. a locking assembly on said support assembly to enable said seating section to be releasably locked in a desired lower position and when released to permit said seating section to return to the normal self-adjusting operation.
 2. The gaming stool as in claim 1 wherein the upper member and the lower member are cylindrically shaped and are telescopically disposed relative to each other, and the locking assembly is so disposed between the upper member and the lower member that they are free to move and slide relative to each other during normal self-adjusting operation and use of the gaming stool.
 3. The gaming stool as in claims 1 or 2 wherein the locking assembly includes: a. a cut-out section in and medially along the wall of the lower member, having at least one opening in communication with the cut-out section and a generally inverted cut-in at the upper end of the cut-out section, and b. a shaped latching member on the inner wall of the upper member disposed for entrance into the opening for the cut-in section and movable to fit and to engage the inverted cut in section when the seating section is lowered and turned for releasably locking the seating section in the lowered position and releasable to the unlocked position to return the seating section to normal self-adjusting operation.
 4. The gaming stool as claimed in claim 3 wherein the shaped latching member is an enlarged gear-shaped member.
 5. The gaming stool as in claim 3 wherein the shaped latching member is a rotatable gear-shaped wheel.
 6. The gaming stool as in claims 1 or 2 wherein the locking assembly includes: a. a relatively large cut-away section in the wall of the lower member, b. a shaped cut-in portion medially along the wall of the lower cylindrical member, having at least one opening in communication with the cut-away section, and a generally inverted and downwardly extending locking tab formed by the upper end of the shaped cut-in portion, and c. a shaped latching member on the inner wall of the upper cylindrical member movable for entrance into and out of engagement with the shaped cut-in portion and the inverted locking tab when the seating section is lowered and turned to releasably lock the seating section in the lowered position and releasable to the unlocked position to return the seating section to normal self-adjusting operation.
 7. The gaming stool as claimed in claim 4 wherein the shaped latching member is an enlarged gear-shaped member.
 8. The gaming stool as in claim 4 wherein the shaped latching member is a rotatable gear-shaped wheel.
 9. The gaming stool as in claims 1 or 2 wherein the locking assembly includes: a. a substantial vertical cut-away in the wall of the lower member forming a first side edge and a second side edge on the remaining portion of the wall on the lower member, b. a cut-out section in and medially along said first side edge in the remaining potion of the wall of the lower member having, at least one inlet opening in the side edge of the said arcuate opening, c. a generally inverted locking groove at the upper end of the cut-out section, and d. a rotatably mounted generally gear-shaped wheel-like latching member on the inner wall of the upper member slidable into the said inlet opening for the cut-in section and to fit in locking engagement with the inverted locking groove when the seating section is lowered and turned for releasably locking the seating section in the lowered position and releasable by turning the seating section to the unlocked position to return the seating section to normal self-adjusting operation.
 10. A first member for enabling an associated second member to be serviced, the first member having a seating section and comprising: a. a support assembly for the first member having an upper member and a lower member disposed for operative inter-engagement with each other, b. said upper member affixed at its upper end to the seating section and having its lower end normally disposed in freely movable relation to the lower member, c. yieldable means on said support assembly operative to normally maintain said seating section of the first member at a predetermined height and self-adjusting to enable said seating section to be moved to a lower position and, when released, to return the seating section to the initial predetermined height, and d. an inter-engaging locking assembly formed on said upper member and lower member to enable said seating section to be releasably locked at a desired lower height and when released to return to normal self-adjusting operation.
 11. The combination in claim 10 wherein the upper member and the lower member are cylindrically shaped and are telescopically disposed relative to each other, and the inter-engaging locking assembly is so disposed between the upper member and the lower member that they are free to move and slide relative to each other during normal self-adjusting operation and use of the gaming stool.
 12. The combination as in claims 10 or 11 wherein the yieldable means includes a gas cylinder disposed in the lower member, and a plunger member is movable into and out of said gas cylinder, and said plunger member connected at the end remote from the gas cylinder to the seat section of the gaming stool.
 13. The combination as in claims 10 or 11 wherein the locking assembly includes: a. a relatively large cut-away section in the wall of the lower member, b. a shaped cut-in portion medially along the wall of the lower cylindrical member, having at least one opening in communication with the cut-away section, and a generally inverted and downwardly extending locking tab formed by the upper end of the shaped cut-in portion, and c. a shaped latching member on the inner wall of the upper cylindrical member movable for entrance into and out of engagement with the shaped cut-in portion and the inverted locking tab when the seating section is lowered and turned to releasably lock the seating section in the lowered position and releasable to the unlocked position to return the seating section to normal self-adjusting operation.
 14. The combination as in claim 13 wherein the shaped latching member is an enlarged gear-shaped member.
 15. The combination as in claim 13 wherein the shaped latching member is a rotatable gear-shaped wheel. 